This has to be the coooolest thread on the internet since some wild ass crazy Russian American made an AK47 out of a shovel.

Yep agree.........funny thing first engine open pic reminded me Briggs and Stratton filed for Chapter 11.

Well, I got an update from my buddy. He pulled the valves to look at the seats. Turns out somebody installed hardened valve seats, which is good news. Bad news is that several of the seats are cracked. Here is one



That isn’t a terribly big deal, but number 3 cylinder has a crack between the valve and the cylinder. Here is the magnaflux on that beauty



This is a common problem on 1926-27 T engines. They will still run, but not well. Unfortunately, that crack can not be fixed. My engine block is toast.

My buddy is looking now for a used block that hasn’t already been bored out too much, and has valve guides that aren’t also blown out. The statement of work to rebuild a Model T block goes something like this

1. Re-Babbitt the crankshaft main bearings
2. Re-Babbitt the connecting rods
3. Grind the crank
4. Line bore the main bearings babbitt
5. Machine the con rods babbitt
6. Install hardened valve seats
7, Bore out cylinders as necessary
8. Ream out valve guides as necessary
9.. Replace rear cam bushing
8. Reassembly with new pistons, rings, valves, springs and cam.

Oh, and while we’re at it, May as well go through the transmission and replace all the bushings, pull the magnets, check all the gears, and install new bands.

Still waiting to hear how much all this will cost. I can also choose to put it back together and drive it as it is, until it completely dies. It won’t run great, but it will run. I will post more when I get more news and decide what to do.

Well shit. Are blocks even available?

My buddy has several laying around. He is going to yard a few out of the blackberries and see if he can find one with some life still in it.

Blown 289

Check with this guy.



https://offerup.com/p/27983412/

Can't we just 3D print one now?

Yeah, that’s a typical old school Model T guy. Lots of rusty parts sitting in the back yard, slowly decomposing.

Probably. A used block goes for $200-300. Babbitting is around $600. Machining about $500. Pistons $200. Valves $50. Miscellaneous gaskets and seals $200. All other parts I have already bought or can be reused. So about $2000 in parts alone. Labor is the big question.

It won’t be cheap. I might just slap on the high compression head and drive it until it blows up. Then rebuild it.

While I am waiting for the news on an engine rebuild, I decided to watch some Model T Babbitt work on YouTube. Babbitt is a tin alloy containing copper and antimony, that forms the bearing surface between the crankshaft and bearing blocks and caps. Babbitt bearings were widely used in pre-war cars. Here are a couple pics of the three Model T main bearing caps.





The silver-colored metal in this pic is the actual Babbitt material, which is cast-in to the bearing caps,




Here are some modern main bearing caps




Here is a video on pouring Babbitt in model T bearing caps




The other side of the bearing is cast into the engine block. Here is a model T block with a fresh set of Babbitt bearings



Here is a video on babbitting a model T engine block

Just drop a Pinto engine in it and never open the hood.

A Pinto engine? But what if he's out driving and a car hits him from behind?

In re babbit/bearings:

When in college there was a creaky old professor who taught PNW history.

He related the story of his trip to eastern washington along the path, once a wagon trail, that I-90 traverses.

He threw a bearing on his outing... so he climbed under the car (Mod T? I forget) and drained the crank case... INTO HIS HAT!

He dropped the pan (?) or otherwise accessed the crank and shimmed the bearing using the real tinfoil from his chewing gum wrappers.

Buttoned everything back up, refilled the CC and went on his jolly...

Back in the day, by the time the ol 4 banger had wore out the tow truck driver would surely have done TWO things,
1 been completely tired of using a guttless underpowered turd to tow other rigs.
2 brought in a crashed post 32 ford with a low mile flathead V8 and had it in the yard.

Authentic OLD towtruck driver would have weighed out the cost of rebuilding the horrible 4 banger VS putting in a great engine that would actually tow a load and be pleasant to drive/operate.

Said old driver and tow truck would soon have a skookum new flathead V8.

Vroom.